Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation Chief Executive Officer Mark Roithmayr Announces Retirement in 2025

The Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) announced today that Mark Roithmayr will retire from his role as Chief Executive Officer effective December 31, 2025. The ADDF’s Board, led by its Co-Founders and Co-Chairmen Leonard A. and Ronald S. Lauder and President Randal Sandler, will oversee the search for the new CEO. Roithmayr will stay on in an advisory role through the leadership transition.

“The energy, dedication, and strategic vision Mark brought to the ADDF over the past nine years has transformed the organization, allowing it to become a key force leading and shaping Alzheimer’s science,” said Leonard Lauder. “We deeply appreciate all that Mark has done for the ADDF, and we have full confidence in Randal Sandler and the rest of the Board to lead us forward as we search for a successor who will build on our current momentum in the ADDF’s mission to defeat Alzheimer’s disease.” 

“When my brother and I founded this organization 27 years ago, there was little hope for Alzheimer’s patients. Now, with the breakthroughs the ADDF has helped create during Mark’s tenure as CEO, we can say that hope is here,” added Ronald Lauder. “For the first time, we have multiple drugs available for patients, better diagnostic tools than ever before, and proven methods for prevention – all of which carry the ADDF’s fingerprints.”

Roithmayr joined the ADDF in 2017 as the organization’s first CEO and has significantly expanded the ADDF’s scale and impact over the past nine years. Some of the major accomplishments during his tenure include:

• Increasing revenue five-fold from $17 million to an excess of $90 million and growing mission related investing over 100%.
• Stewarding a historic contribution in 2023 from Leonard A. Lauder, Ronald S. Lauder, William P. Lauder, Gary M. Lauder, Aerin Lauder Zinterhofer, and Jane Lauder, which will cover the ADDF’s overhead for the next two decades, allowing the organization to continue advancing cutting-edge research while reinvesting every donation back into science.
• Codifying the ADDF’s three pillars of therapeutics, biomarkers, and prevention, and raising $100 million for the ADDF’s Clinical Trials Fund, aimed at accelerating the development of a diverse next generation of Alzheimer’s drugs that will target the underlying biological causes of the disease.
• Building a partnership with Gates Ventures and convening prominent philanthropists and leaders in the Alzheimer’s space; including Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Eli Lilly, and Biogen, among others; to raise $100 million for the ADDF’s Diagnostics Accelerator, an initiative supporting the development of accessible tools to detect Alzheimer’s and related dementias.
• Elevating the stature of the Melvin R. Goodes Prize, now considered the Nobel Prize of Alzheimer’s research, and awarding the 2025 prize to Dr. Daniel Skovronsky, Chief Scientific Officer, Lilly, and President, Lilly Research Labs.
• Increasing the ADDF’s presence in worldwide media, conferences, and thought leadership forums and amplifying the visionary voice of ADDF Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer, Dr. Howard Fillit, who has transformed the future of research by directing the field’s focus toward combination therapies and precision medicine, the same approach that has proven successful in cancer treatment.
• Expanding the ADDF Board to include a new coalition of experts including key thought leaders from industry, academia, business, and philanthropy who will guide the organization as it builds on its legacy of innovation.

“There has never been a more exciting time for the Alzheimer’s field and the ADDF is perfectly positioned for what comes next,” said Dr. Fillit. “The incredible cohort of staff, board members, and partners Mark has brought together will bolster our efforts as the ADDF continues to drive the science forward and develop the next generation of treatments. It has been an honor to work so closely with Mark over the past nine years and I look forward to continuing our partnership as we collaborate to identify and onboard the ADDF’s next CEO.”

“Serving as the ADDF’s first Chief Executive Officer over the past nine years has been an absolute privilege,” said Roithmayr. “With its robust scientific portfolio, deep global partnerships, and ability to operate at the nexus of academia, biotech, pharma, venture capital, and philanthropy, the ADDF is uniquely poised to revolutionize the Alzheimer’s space. Thanks to the visionary leadership of Leonard and Ronald Lauder, we have already made a real impact, ushering in a new era of research and bringing hope to patients around the world. I cannot wait to see what the next few years bring as this fabulous organization continues its work. And I am committed to working alongside the next CEO to ensure a seamless transition.”